MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Dukes (3-2) picked up a 3-0 win over Idaho (1-4), before dropping a five-set match to Liberty (2-0) on the first day of the Robert Morris/Chick-Fil-A Labor Day Classic Friday afternoon inside the UPMC Events Center.
 
Duquesne hit .330 and forced 20 errors in a three-set win over Idaho (25-19, 27-25, 25-21) to begin the day. Outside Hitter Morgan Kelly (Florence, Ky./Cooper) hit .308 to lead the way with 16 kills – three shy of a program record in a three-set match. 
 
Setter Hailey Poling (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) tossed around 37 assists to guide the offense, while libero Camille Spencer (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) paced the defense with 15 digs in the win.
 
Duquesne had a 2-1 lead in its match with Liberty, but was limited to 12 kills over the final two sets in a 3-2 loss (21-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-20, 15-10) to conclude play on Friday. 
 
Kelly once again led the offense with 19 kills, while outside hitter Summer Slade (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Mary's) chipped in 11 kills and a team-high nine digs. Poling finished with 45 assists and eight digs, middle hitter Anita Parrott (League City, Texas/Clear Falls) matched a career-high with nine blocks, and outside hitter Anna Shoemake (Dayton, Ohio/Beavercreek) added nine kills and six blocks.
 
The Dukes will wrap up play in the RMU/Chick-Fil-A Labor Day Classic tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 4 when they take on Robert Morris at 4 p.m. in the final match of the event. The contest will broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. IDAHO

• Idaho committed a trio of attack errors to allow Duquesne to open up a 5-2 lead early in the match. After the Vandals managed to tie the set up at 6-6, both teams traded the lead until a four-point run by Duquesne made the score 19-14. The Dukes eventually built their lead to six, 23-17, and took the first set at 25-19. Kelly finished with six of her match-high 16 kills in the opening set.
• Idaho put Duquesne in deficits of 3-0 and 6-1 to open the second set. The Dukes rallied to tie the score at 7-7, which included a successfully overturned call on a challenge at 7-5. DU took its first lead of the set at 10-9 and built a 12-9 advantage to force a Vandal timeout. The Dukes appeared to be in control at 23-17, but a six-point run by Idaho tied the set at 23-23. After tie scores at 24 and 25, a kill by Slade and a Vandal attack error allowed DU to escape with a 27-25 set win.
• The Dukes trailed 4-1 and 10-5 to begin the third set. DU rallied back to 10-9 and tied the set up on a Kelly ace at 13-13. Duquesne took its first lead of the set at 15-14 and battled to a tie at 20-20. The Dukes managed to take five of the next six points, including a pair of blocks on the final two points to close out the match with a 25-21 third set win.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED vs. LIBERTY

• The Dukes enjoyed early leads of 6-3 and 12-7 in the opening set versus the Flames. Liberty rallied to tie the set up at 15 and put Duquesne in the hole for the first time at 18-17. DU responded with consecutive points to reclaim the lead at 19-18, before the set saw tie scores at 19, 20 and 21. The Dukes went on a run with the help of a solo block and two kills by Slade to clinch the first set at 25-21. DU collectively hit .400 as a team with 13 kills in the opening frame.
• Liberty responded with a 25-15 win in the second set. The Flames put the Dukes in a 9-3 deficit behind three-straight aces to force a timeout. Duquesne managed to draw back to a 15-14 deficit, but Liberty closed the set with 10 of the next 11 points, including three more aces, to knot the match up.
• Duquesne bounced back and opened up the third set with a 5-1 lead, before a Poling ace made the score 8-2 to force a Flame timeout. The Dukes eventually built the lead to eight, 12-4, and enjoyed an advantage of at least six points until they reached set-point at 24-18. Liberty made a run with four-straight points to make the score 24-22, but a kill by Kelly clinched the set at 25-22.
• Liberty opened up the fourth set with leads of 7-2 and 11-4. The Dukes managed to close the gap to 11-9 after an ace and a block, but the Flames managed to rebuild their lead to 17-11 and force a DU timeout. Duquesne answered back out of the timeout with three-straight points, including kills by Kelly and Shoemake, to make the score 17-14 and force Liberty to call a timeout of their own. Duquesne got it as close as 19-17, but Liberty managed to take the set at 25-20 to force a decisive fifth set.
• The score was tied at 3-3 in the fifth set when Liberty notched four-straight points to force a Duquesne timeout. The Flames built their lead to 9-3, but the Dukes battled back and eventually drew within one point, 11-10, on the heels of back-to-back service aces by Ashley Larson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian). Liberty managed to withstand the run and closed the match out with three-straight points to deal the Dukes the five-set loss.